Recently, cards convenient to use and handy to carry are widely being used compared with cash. The cards are classified into a credit card, a cash card, a direct payment card, an advance payment card, a traffic card and so on according to a settlement method. For example, cards are frequently used to settle accounts for purchase of products in general shops or department stores. Also, cards are used to pay for filling gas in gas stations or having food in restaurants. Recently, cards are being used for traffic fare in taxis, subways or buses. In addition, cards are being used for electronic commerce transactions or automatic transfer machines (ATMs)/CDs. As such, card affiliated stores continue to increase and card settlement items become diverse. However, cards are not still sufficiently applied to toll gates, tunnel passage, vending machines, and self-service kiosks.
FIG. 1 illustrates a general credit card settlement system, which shows the case of paying for an article purchased in a shop.
In FIG. 1, a purchaser gives his or her own credit card 11 to a seller. The credit card 11 is a magnetic card in which an inherent number and a user name are engraved. The seller inserts the credit card into a magnetic card reader in a credit card inquiry machine 12, so that credit card information is recognized via the magnetic card reader. Then, the credit card inquiry machine 12 transmits the recognized credit card information to a VAN (Value-Added Network) company server 13, to thereby send an approval request. The credit card inquiry machine 12 and the VAN company server 13 are connected through a dedicated line. The VAN company server 13 applies for an approval to a corresponding card company server 14 according to the received approval request. The card company server 14 having received the approval application from the VAN company server 13 confirms whether the corresponding credit card is black-listed, how is the credit standing of the credit card holder, how is the credit limit of the credit card, and so on, and then transmits an approval result to the VAN company server 13. The VAN company server 13 having received the approval result from the card company server 14 notifies the approval result to the credit card inquiry machine 12 in the store having received the initial approval application. The seller in the store confirms the approval result and then notifies the purchaser of the confirmed approval result. In the case that the credit card proves normal according to the approval result, the seller gives the purchaser a sales check and then receives a signature from the purchaser. Accordingly, a settlement of payment using such a credit card is completed.
FIG. 2 illustrates a credit card settlement system in a general electronic commerce, which includes a cyber shopping mall system 23 providing products or services, and a customer terminal 22 which accesses the shopping mall system 23 via the Internet in order to purchase articles or services. The credit card settlement system also includes a payment gateway company server 24, and a VAN company server 25 and a card company server 26, which are involved in payment for products such as the articles or services.
In FIG. 2, a customer accesses the cyber shopping mall system 23 with a computer, that is, the Internet-accessible terminal 22, in order to perform a shopping. If the customer finds out an article desired to be purchased, he or she transmits a purchase intention to the shopping mall system 23. The customer inputs information of the possessed credit card 21, that is, the customer name, the card number, the secret number, the valid date, etc., on a screen provided by the shopping mall system 23. The shopping mall system 23 transmits the card information provided by the customer to the payment gateway company server 24. The payment gateway company server 24 requests for an approval for the transmitted card information to the card company server 26 or the VAN company server 25, and then confirms an approval result, and transmits the approval result to the shopping mall system 23 where transactions took place. If the shopping mall system 23 is notified that a normal settlement processing has been made from the payment gateway company server 24, the article purchased by the corresponding customer is delivered to the customer to complete the transaction.
Meanwhile, an electronic money is used as a new payment means in addition to cashes or cards. The electronic money may be classified into a network-type electronic money, an IC card-type electronic money and a petty sum electronic money using a phone number. The network-type electronic money adopts a method of storing a substantial monetary value in a particular database on a network and transmits a requested value at a needed time on an on-line, which cannot be used on an off-line. The IC card-type electronic money is represented by a Mondex card as an example. The petty sum electronic money using a phone number adopts a method of inputting a phone number such as a portable phone number instead of payment information such as credit card information when goods or services are purchased on the Internet after registration with respect to corresponding electronic money dealing stores, to thereby allow a phone number inputter to purchase his or her desired goods or services, and charging the amount summed in a following month bill for phone charges to him or her.